The Imposter Mary Sue
by Sawnya
Summary: Fanfiction writer and waitress Leonie Wells is a plain, fat, and very dorky girl who longs to be her MS character, Mari Suzette, and to be with Trunks. But when her wish is granted, Leonie finds out that being a Mary Sue isn't as great as she thought.
1. Leonie And Mari Suzette

**THE IMPOSTER MARY SUE**

**(DBZ DISCLAIMER: DBZ belongs to Akira Toriyama, Bird Studios, Toei Animation, Funimation, and any other involved parties. All canon DBZ characters belong to those parties mentioned beforehand. Leonie Wells, however, belongs to me personally, and may only be borrowed with written permission from me.)**

* * *

**Chapter One: Leonie Wells And Mari Suzette**

_"Ah, Mari Suzette," Future Trunks breathed, holding his new, gorgeous, blond-haired, violet-eyed mate in his arms. "Without you, my love, we would have never defeated Cell."_

_"It was nothing, really," Mari Suzette breathed. "Gohan was the real hero who defeated that monster."_

_"No, Mari Suzette, it wasn't me," Gohan insisted. "It was you who used your incredible Flower Power Shower attack where my Kamehameha attack was weakening. If it hadn't been for you intervening at the very last minute, Cell would have killed me, would have destroyed us all."_

_"Yes," Goku added. "And if you hadn't gone away with me to convince me to take King Kai and the others back with me to Earth, all of us would have been killed. So instead, today, it was only Cell who perished. You are the true hero, er, I mean heroine, Mari Suzette. We're all proud of you."_

_"And I apologize for giving you such a hard time when you first arrived," Vegeta told her easily._

_Mari Suzette blushed. She couldn't believe, that she, a mere newcomer, had defeated Cell. She had come a long way from being the lost and lonely last living, pureblooded Saiyan female in existence, to being Earth's newest champion. She had won the heart of Future Trunks, convinced Vegeta that she was worth having around, made a friend of the impossibly distant Piccolo, cured Goku of his heart virus faster with her all-healing powers, and handily defeated Cell, after a surge of incredibly new strength that elevated her to SSJ10. Now she was the strongest Saiyan around!_

_And everyone loved her, but sadly, she'd have to leave her new friends behind temporarily to go to Trunks's timeline with him, to help defeat those androids and Cell. But it would be so easy for her to do so now, even easier than it had been when she had eradicated the Cell in this timeline, with a mere Flower Shower Power attack._

_"I love you so, Mari Suzette," Trunks said, kissing her passionately, slipping his delicious tongue into her tender mouth. Mari Suzette kissed him fervently in return and clung to him, wrapping her tail and arms around his handsome, muscled body. They kissed and made out in front of everyone, but no one minded in the least bit, because they were all so happy for them, and their super, wondrous love was an inspiration to them all…"_

Leonie Wells smiled to herself with satisfaction after typing those sentences on her beloved, old computer. Her wonderful, passionate Future Trunks romance/action adventure was coming to an end, and she was working on the final chapter. She couldn't wait to publish it at , where she just knew it would be heralded and welcomed by millions of adoring Trunks fans. Every fangirl would love Mari Suzette instantly and cheer her on in her adventures. The reviews would come in for her story twenty, thirty reviews at a time. And all her new fans would insist on writing to Akira Toriyama and demanding that the entire DBZ series be rewritten to include her all-powerful, magnificently beautiful, Mari Suzette. Yes, DBZ fans everywhere would want Mari Suzette around, and they'd buy the action figures made of her, want to be her, draw pictures of her, and talk about her constantly on the DBZ fan message boards. Why even yaoi and yuri fans would want to read about her.

Who wouldn't love Mari Suzette? Mari Suzette was perfect in EVERY way: a five-foot, nine-inches tall pureblooded Saiyan, with golden blond hair, sparkling amethyst eyes, long and shapely legs, basketball-sized breasts, and peaches-and-cream skin. Even her plush, silky tail was golden, like her long, curly hair that was never out of place. Mari Suzette also had an IQ of two thousand, was a gourmet chef, a beautiful singer, a powerful warrior who had never been defeated by anyone, and also a musical prodigy in ten musical instruments. She was also a talented healer who could heal with just a brush of her finger across someone's forehead. Her healing touch would cure EVERY disease or injury, no matter what the ailment was. And her mental powers were phenomenal! She possessed unsurpassed telekinetic, telepathic, precognition abilities, and there wasn't a spell in the universe that she couldn't do.

She was always sweet-tempered, loving, never cranky, and without a SINGLE fault or flaw. In other words, everyone's ideal woman.

In Leonie's story, _The Legend Of The Magnificent Mari Suzette_, Mari Suzette was a lost Saiyan female who had been on a mission when planet Vegeta had exploded. But when Mari Suzette returned to Frieza, Frieza took pity on the girl and raised her, as if she was his own daughter, treating her like a princess. Of course, Mari Suzette had actually been a noblewoman, the daughter of Vegeta's female best friend, Suzi Mariette, also a Saiyan noblewoman, who had tragically perished on the exploding planet Vegeta. But before mother and daughter had parted, Suzi Mariette had trained and educated Mari Suzette in as many of her talents and abilities as she could.

After Frieza had adopted Mari Suzette, he ensconced her on his home planet, where Mari Suzette learned even more training techniques and talents, becoming more powerful than even her Vegeta. Vegeta supposedly never knew that Mari Suzette survived because Frieza never allowed contact between the two, fearing that Vegeta and Mari Suzette would pair up and produce a child. Also, Frieza was falling in love with his adopted daughter and planned to make her his queen. But Mari Suzette only loved Frieza as a father, and when Frieza made an advance on her, she fled from his empire that night, hiding out from him for years until one day her pod crashed onto Earth, and she ran into Future Trunks and the rest of the Z-crew…

Thinking back on Mari Suzette's story, Leonie sighed dramatically, longing to be Mari Suzette in real life. Mari Suzette had EVERYTHING-magic powers, super strength, all the talents a girl could want…and best of all TRUNKS…Leonie's secret crush.

Leonie's bedroom walls were plastered with pictures of Trunks everywhere; even her bedspread had Trunks's handsome face on it. She lived, breathed, and dreamed Trunks, always imagining what it would be like to be his girlfriend, no, his wife!

But Trunks would want a Mari Suzette, not a Leonie. For Leonie, sadly, was nothing like her fanfiction character counterpart. Mari Suzette was twenty-one; Leonie was eighteen. Mari Suzette was tall, beautiful, curvy, and slender with clear, creamy skin; Leonie was very short, obese, freckled, pale, and pimply, with muddy gray eyes and short, curly dull red hair that would never grow past chin-length. Mari Suzette was extremely smart and knew everything about math, science, and language arts; Leonie had nearly failed most of her classes, except for art, the one area that she was good in. She had just dropped out of high school, and had no future plans beyond her night waitress job at the Greasy Spoon, a diner and bar often frequented by sleazy clientele.

Mari Suzette was popular and confident; Leonie was an outcast whose only best friend, Miranda, had moved away a year ago, so now, she only had her old golden retriever, Sunny, to keep her company. Mari Suzette had a beautiful, melodic singing voice; Leonie couldn't carry a tune in a thimble and was extremely tone-deaf. Mari Suzette was super-strong; Leonie was so physically weak that she could barely do a push-up. Mari Suzette was from Saiyan nobility; Leonie was the daughter of a truck driver who had abandoned her trashy, bartender mother before Leonie had been born. Now Leonie and her mother were living in a leaky, rusty trailer, in a run-down trailer park.

Leonie's clothes all came from the Riches 2 Rags Thrift Store, and today,just before she had to change for work, she was wearinga ragged plaid button-down shirt that was a size too small and barely held around her enormous, yet sagging, chest. Her mother had shrunk her clothes again; Sasha Wells couldn't wash a dishrag without ruining it.

Leonie sighed sadly, as she drew yet another picture of Trunks and Mari Suzette kissing lovingly in front of a sunset. Oh, what she wouldn't give to be Mari Suzette! To live Mari Suzette's life! To be as popular and adored and admired as her!

But she knew that would never be, and a tear rolled down her chubby, freckled cheek, as she finished the details of Mari Suzette's Saiyan armor, which had a lavender suit and pure gold plates. She traced a plump finger along the pen-drawn waves and curls of Mari Suzette's golden hair. She lovingly kissed the drawn face of Trunks, her Trunks, well, actually Mari Suzette's Trunks!

She then cuddled her Trunks action figure to her breasts, as she heard her mother yell, "LEONIE! You better c'mon, girl! You gonna be late for work! And I'm gonna be late too, and you know our truck's on its last legs as it is!"

"Coming, Mom!" Leonie called, reluctantly putting down her Trunks action figure. She waded through the narrow hallway into the kitchen and groaned when she saw Chet Harper sloppily kiss her mother. She shook her head and groaned. Her mother's latest boyfriend was the worst; like almost all of Sasha's boyfriends, he only worked when he wanted to, and he spent as much of his paycheck as he could boozing, gambling, and paying strippers. The brown-haired and green-eyed Chet was nothing to look at it either, he was twice Leonie's size and a foot taller than her, with rolls of fat dangling from his sweaty, smelly body.

Leonie ignored Chet as much as possible, as she put on her waitress's apron. Sasha yelled at her, "Leonie, dontcha have any manners? Ya didn't tell Chet hello!"

"Hello, Chet," Leonie said politely.

"Hey, babe," Chet responded with a sly grin, as he slapped Sasha's ample bottom. Sasha was dressed for her night job as a bartender, but unlike most bartenders, she wore skintight leather pants, a tight tube top that barely held her large breasts, and thigh-high leather boots. She also had long, bleached-blond hair, and shiny lips, coated with five layers of pink lipstick. Since Sasha worked in a biker bar, she was dressed perfectly for her job.

"C'mon, Leonie, let's go!" Sasha ordered her daughter.

"Yes, Mom," Leonie said with a sigh.

* * *

Despite Sasha's worries, she did get Leonie to work on time-well, actually, ten minutes ahead of schedule. After her mother had dropped her off, Leonie hurried into the ladies' room, anxious to relieve her full bladder before she clocked in. She wore proper sneakers for work, but even her shoes didn't prevent her from slipping on a puddle of water. Unable to steady herself, Leonie helplessly slid into an open ladies' room stall, where her forehead crashed onto the toilet seat, hitting it hard. She became unconscious temporarily for about a minute. 

Fortunately, she revived fairly quickly, and when she did, she cried out in pain, and a few tears slipped from her smoky eyes down her freckled face. She touched her head tenderly, finding a trace of blood on her index and middle fingers. Using toilet paper, she gently cleaned herself up, but there was little she could do for her pants, especially between her legs. To her embarrassment, Leonie found that she had wet herself, and as fast as she could manage, she undid her jeans and relieved herself to prevent any further leakage.

She continued to rub the swollen bump on her head the best that she could with her thumb and a wad of toilet paper, as she looked at her watch with the frayed and stained leather wristband. Oh no! She was already five minutes late for work!

As fast as she could, Leonie finished her business, so that she wouldn't be too late when her boss, Mick, showed up when he was supposed to, half an hour later than she did. Mick had no tolerance for even thirty seconds of lateness.

* * *

At the Greasy Spoon, heavy rain poured down in the cracked parking lots while flashes and streaks of lightening danced across the dark, cloudy skies. Thunder boomed, loud and demanding,terrifying Leonie. She had a paralyzing fear of thunderstorms of any sort; the crash of thunder and the ominous lightening were more than enough to make her want to crawl under the table and scream. 

Despite her fears, Leonie had been working for five hours now without a break. Her new customer was a strange old, black man, dressed in a greasy tan trench coat. The old man was missing most of his teeth, and he called her "sugar". But he seemed like a decent fellow, who didn't jeer at Leonie or make a pass at her the way that many male customers seemed to do. Leonie, who knew that she wasn't attractive in the least bit, didn't understand why those old louts bothered.

She did notice that her new customer was wearing a rather unusual pendant around his neck on a fine, gold chain. It was strange for an old man to wear such a piece of jewelry because it was shaped like a small Swallowtail butterfly and the size of an American quarter. The pendant was rimmed with gold and inlaid with mother-of-pearl, and there was a tiny, genuine, lavender pearl for the butterfly's head.

"That's a beautiful pendant," Leonie commented, even though she thought it was rather odd for an old man to wear an obviously feminine piece of jewelry.

"Thank you, miss," the old man said. "It's been my good luck charm…ever since I was a young man in my twenties. It's helped me wherever I went. Almost as good as a Bible for luck, almost, but not quite. Yes, young one, this pendant has brought me much luck. I know that I don't look like a lucky man at this moment, but I've had my share of good times, Miss, I've had, yes, indeed."

They had made friendly conversation for a few more minutes, and when Leonie brought him his bill for his two tuna salad sandwiches and French fries, the old man looked at her sorrowfully. "Miss," he said gently. "I can pay for my food, I can, but I'm afraid I don't have enough to leave you a tip, and I know that you deserve it."

"It's okay," Leonie told him politely. She was used to customers either saying they didn't have enough to tip her, or giving her pitiful sums of money. "I understand."

"No, miss, you don't, not really. I can do something else for you…I can give you this pendant for a tip, yes, I can. This pendant is powerful, Miss, that it is, yes, it is. Had it blessed for my baby girl when I first found all seven of the Dragonballs, but then she died 'fore I could get home and give it to her-"

"Dragonballs?" Leonie asked, puzzled.

"You know, Miss, Dragonballs," the old man said calmly. "I wished for the pendant to be blessed with the power to make any person who wore it into the exact kind of person that he or she wished to be. Why, Miss, if a homeless man wanted to be a rich, fancy millionaire with fifty companies, all he'd have to do is wish it, and he'd become that person. If a chambermaid wanted to be a princess, she could be, and she would stay a princess, as long as she kept the pendant on. The wearer could stay the person that he or she wanted to be, as long as he or she wore this necklace. But if that person ever took the pendant off for any reason, he or she would go back to being who he or she was before."

Leonie smiled indulgently. She was fascinated by the old man's story, but she was starting to believe that he was a bit senile. But her smile creased into a worried half-frown.

"You're willing to give this pendant up? Are you sure about this?" she asked with concern. "I wouldn't feel right about taking it from you, especially since it seems to mean so much to you."

"I'd be greatly honored, Miss, if you would take it. It'd mean so much to me, if you'd accept it. It's brought me luck, now I figured it's time to pass that luck to someone else. And you, Miss, seem to be a girl who could use a bit of it, yes you could. Please take it as my tip, Miss; it'd mean so much to mean for you to have it. Then, I would know that I gave you something worthwhile. It was my mother's, you see, and my wife also died with my daughter, so I couldn't give it to either one of them after my mother left it to me in her will, that she did. Please, Miss, take it."

"Okay, okay, I will," Leonie assured him, as she hesitantly took the pendant offered to her. She still felt guilty for taking a treasure from him, but he seemed the sort whose feelings would be hurt, if she didn't.

"Thank you, very much, sir. Don't worry, I will take very good care of this," she promised him.

"You're welcome, Miss; I know that you'll be good to it. Now put it around your neck and wish yourself into anyone that you wish to be. You don't have to be a waitress here, if you don't want to be. Try it. Take my word for it."

Leonie smiled. She still didn't believe what the old man was saying about the pendant's powers, but she decided to humor him. She closed her eyes and whispered, "I wish to be Mari Suzette, with…"

It took her several minutes to complete her wish, and the old man laughed. "I don't know who this Mari Suzette is, Miss, but I'm sure that if she's who you want to be, then you'll be her. Good luck." The old man arose and dusted off his old trench coat, preparing to leave.

"Thank you again, sir, you have a good day," Leonie told him.

"You too, Miss, you too. I just have to use the men's room 'fore I leave. Where is it?"

Leonie pointed him in the direction, and the two of them walked together, since Leonie had to go back and wash her hands again. Like with almost all food service workers, constant hand washing was an absolute must.

In the ladies' room, she washed her hands vigorously under hot, running water, lathering them up lavishly. She felt sorry for her last customer, and she did wish that what he was saying about her new pendant were true. But he had talked about Dragonballs, and how using them had blessed this pendant, and Leonie knew that story had to be some sort of fairy tale. The old man must be an anime fan who had heard of the Dragonballs before, and must have watched Dragonball Z before. Perhaps, he had seen on it cable when he was bored and just made up his story to amuse himself.

Poor old fellow. Leonie promised herself that she'd take good care of her new prize for his sake.

She turned away from the mirror and bent down to tie her shoelaces. Before she could stand up straight again, she heard a rip in the seat of her jeans. Great, just great! Now one of her few pairs of jeans that had remained intact were torn. And at work too! She hoped that luck the old man had promised her would kick in soon.

She finally stood up fully, but before she could look in the mirror to check out the damage done to her jeans, she heard a loud noise:

"CRASH! SHATTER!"

Leonie, forgetting about her pants and checking herself in the mirror, scurried out of the ladies' room out into the dining room and into a crowd, of panicked customers and employees. Screams and cries filled the diner, as the glass in the double doors continued to fly everywhere. The cause of the broken doors and glass was a strange, green lizard-like creature that casually strutted into the restaurant, not affected the least bit by the broken glass lying all over the floor. He had a long tail with a stinger-like instrument at the end, and Leonie screamed louder than anyone. She knew, without a doubt, who and what the intruder was.

"EVERYBODY RUN!" she cried.

People panicked and pushed and shoved to flee towards the emergency exit. The busboy, Terry, grabbed Leonie's arm and asked her, "Do you know who or what that monster is?"

"Yes, yes," Leonie said, sobbing. "That's Cell, in his first form!"


	2. Goodbye, Leonie, And Hello, Mari Suzette

**Chapter Two: Goodbye, Leonie; Hello, Mari Suzette**

Leonie wanted to say more, but she was shocked to find out that her voice was no longer her own. Instead her voice sounded, as if it belonged to someone else, like a woman who sang wonderfully on a regular basis.

What was happening to her voice? To her? To her world as she knew it?

"Cell? Who is Cell?" Terry asked her worriedly, interrupting her anxious thoughts. And Terry seemed to be strange too, acting as if Leonie was a stranger, instead of his co-worker.

Leonie replied shakily in her new, odd voice, "He's—no, this can't be happening! This can't be!"

As Cell walked towards her, Leonie felt something thick and plush brush against her thigh. She hurriedly reached down to feel it.

To her shock, a soft, furry, golden monkey-like tail greeted her fingers.

"I have a tail?" Leonie squeaked.

Strangely, enough, the terrified Terry only now noticed Leonie's discovery. "Oh, my! I thought there was something odd about you! No-no offense, or nothing, but I have to go now—bye!" And with that Terry fled the restaurant with the other frightened customers.

Leonie was about to join him when she heard her bald, fat boss, Mick, screaming. Cell was holding Mick's throat in one hand and the throat of a waitress, Imelda, who wasn't that much older than Leonie. Cell had stabbed the tip of his tail into Mick's back, and he was leisurely absorbing Mick into his tail. In front of Leonie's horrified eyes, Mick was screaming, as his body shrank and deflated. She cried in horror for him, even though she had never liked him very much. She knew it was already too late for her boss, as Cell finished his meal.

Cell slurped, licking his lips, as he prepared to sting Imelda and consume her the same way he had done with Mick. Imelda turned her face towards Leonie's direction and screamed, "Miss, help me please!"

"I-I can't!" Leonie sobbed in horror, looking away down at her feet in terror. To her surprise, she found out that she was no longer wearing her worn, white sneakers, but shiny, white leather boots with gold toes!

"HELP!" Imelda screamed again.

And before Leonie knew what she was doing, she screamed at Cell, "You let her go! Now!" And she unwittingly shot a ki blast at Cell's tail, stinging it. Her ki blast was small, but it was enough to cause Cell considerable pain.

Leonie was shaking in her new boots. "Oh, no! Where did THAT come from?"

"You're dead, lady!" Cell hissed, as he marched towards her angrily still holding Imelda's neck.

Leonie was crying openly. What on Earth was happening to her? As the tears rained down her face, she fell backwards. This time, she managed to steady herself, but she shrieked when she saw a wave of golden hair whip against her cheek. She seized her hair, staring at it in shock as Cell came closer and closer to her.

"Help me, please!" Imelda screamed in pure terror. Cell became annoyed with her screaming and flung her away from him into a booth. He then wasted no time in leaping at Leonie, lashing his deadly tail at her.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Leonie yelled, and again, before she knew it, she was cupping her left hand, as if she were about to grip a stick. Then, as if by some outside force, her right hand and wrist forcibly pushed their way in between her left index finger and thumb. And then the palm of her outstretched right hand spread out fully, like a flower blooming, and inadvertently, she screamed her next words:

"FLOWER POWER SHOWER ATTACK!"

As if she was watching from a distance, Leonie saw Mari Suzette's main attack burst forth from her right palm. It was a giant, golden five-petal flower of ki that flew at Cell. In Leonie's story about Mari Suzette, the ki flower was supposed to fall upon the enemy, cling to him like a jellyfish, and then rain numerous and quick bolts of ki into his body from the "center" of the "flower". When the attack was completed, the Flower Power Shower Attack was supposed to disintegrate any enemy into a pile of ashes, or at the very least, burn him severely, so that he or she would eventually die soon after.

Unfortunately, Cell dodged the first Flower Power Shower Attack, so Leonie decided to try another one on him. Her second attack shot at Cell faster than lightening, and had it reached the monstrous android in time, it might have caused it serious, if not permanent damage.

But it didn't. Instead, at last minute, Cell grabbed Imelda by her arm and before the waitress could react, the android flung her directly into the path of Leonie's Flower Power Shower attack.

"NOOOO!" both Leonie and Imelda screamed, as Imelda was engulfed by Leonie's Flower Power Shower attack. The giant flower of ki swallowed Imelda whole and burned her into ashes within seconds. After a few terrifying minutes, the ki light faded, and Imelda was a pile of charred bones and ashes.

"NO! I'M SO SORRY!" Leonie screamed and sobbed, even though she knew it was too late for apologies now. Not feeling so brave, she sank to her knees and began to sob wildly. She and Imelda had only been acquaintances, never really close, but the shock that she had taken an innocent life struck Leonie to her core.

Cell chuckled, as he came closer to Leonie, deciding whether or not he was going to have her for his next meal. He licked his lips, as he casually brushed his tail against her quivering, terrified form. Leonie was in such terror and shock that she did not bother to move. The tip of Cell's deadly tail danced along Leonie's spine, and then it drew away slowly, preparing to return to sink itself into its victim.

With one swift movement, the tip of Cell's tail dived towards the end of Leonie's trembling spine, about to insert itself. Cell made slurping noises, delighted to have such a powerful victim for his next meal.

But suddenly, with one swift movement, Leonie, still frightened, seized Cell's thick tail in her hand and twisted it hard, so hard that she actually made Cell scream in pain. Abruptly, with a new speed and strength, she arose to her feet and rapidly yanked Cell's tail so hard, that Cell slipped and fell down onto his back.

Cell hissed, calling Leonie an obscene name, as he struggled to free his tail from her tight grip. Before Leonie knew what she was doing, she was swinging Cell around in the air by his tail, as if she were spinning a towel. She whipped Cell's body through windows, shattering them. A rain of fragments pelted the two opponents, as Leonie continued to fling Cell into tables and counters, and yes, more windows.

Finally, Leonie flung Cell at the counter, and Cell slid into a pile of various pies. He landed on his head behind the counter, and he was now covered with the pastries. His feet were swinging in the air, as he shook off two blueberry pies off of them. He pitched a cherry pie off of his tail, and it plopped against the register, blanketing it with ripe, juicy cherries.

Cell abruptly curled into a ball and thrust himself through the counter. He rolled towards Leonie and bowled her over before she could react. Leonie screamed, as Cell's enormous girth crush her ribs and her right cheekbone. If she had not laid her head to her side, Cell's body would have completely crushed her skull.

Clutching her side, Leonie tried to get up, but Cell had arisen faster than her, and he leapt upon her, seizing her throat in his meaty hand. Leonie grabbed his wrist and tried to yank him off, but even with her newfound strength, Cell was immovable.

He used his free fist to punch her hard in the stomach repeatedly. Leonie was now crying openly, as she fought against the stranglehold on her neck. Cell's grip was too strong, and Leonie felt herself grow weaker with every punch.

Desperate, she bit hard into Cell's wrist, but her bite was equivalent to a mouse biting a hippopotamus and was just as effective. Cell merely stopped punching her stomach and settled for socking her in the face. Leonie emitted one final, loud cry, before submitting to a series of low, soft sobs.

Finally, her sobs were starting to annoy him. He spat at her, and surprisingly, allowed her to live for now.

"You're pathetic!" he hissed at her. "Not even worth wasting my time. I'll deal with you another day. Right now, I have some more…succulent victims to attend to. I figured you've been punished enough for trying to be the hero! I can't believe that you're actually a Saiyan! I'm glad that Dr. Gero didn't put any of YOUR genes into me! Well, got to fly! Farewell!"

And with that, Cell shot a ki blast through the ceiling of the Greasy Spoon, and flew through the hole his ki attack had made. Within seconds, he was out of the diner and into the stormy, raining skies above.

* * *

As the rain poured down upon her, Leonie continued to weep loudly, burying her face into her hands. Cell was right. She was pathetic. She couldn't even save her boss and fellow co-worker from that beast. Never before in her life, had Leonie hated herself more than she did until now. 

She was the only one left in the diner, at least as far as she knew. And then, slowly, as the rain mercilessly beat down upon her body, realization hit her. Cell had called her a Saiyan. He thought that she was a Saiyan.

Frantically, Leonie arose to her feet and hurried into the ladies' room to look in the mirror. To her horror and shock, she did not see a short, fat, freckle-faced red-haired girl staring back at her.

Instead, she saw a gorgeous blonde with violet eyes, tall, busty, yet slender, yet muscular-and beautiful! Or, she would be, if not for the mussed hair and tearstained face. And her ordinary clothes were gone, for she was wearing her lavender body suit and gold armor!

She had become Mari Suzette! If it had not been for the horror that she had just endured with Cell, Leonie would have been delighted, ecstatic. But she had failed to destroy the monster, and two people she knew had died because of him--and her.

Mari Suzette would not have failed. Mari Suzette would have easily either destroyed Cell, or sent him running. There would have been no excuse, since the Mari Suzette in Leonie's story was supposed to have been a Super Saiyan before her pod had landed on Earth. A Super Saiyan should have been able to destroy Cell easily, especially one as supposedly powerful as Mari Suzette.

The "real" Mari Suzette would have been looking down on wretched Leonie Caroline Wells for being so weak and so foolish into trying to save the day. Leonie knew instinctively that she was not worthy of being Mari Suzette. However, since she had put on that pendant…

Speaking of her pendant around her neck, where was the kind old man who had given it to her? Frantically Leonie called out for anyone who might respond to her voice, her new, melodic voice:

"Hello, is anyone still here? Hello! Somebody, anybody!"

No one responded to her, not even her last customer. But Leonie did hear piercing screams and cries of terror nearby her. The sounds of pain and fear echoed throughout the run-down neighborhood where Leonie worked. Cell was back on his killing spree once more.

"SOMEONE HELP US!"

"NO, PLEASE DON'T HURT ME!"

"NOOOOO!"

Listening to the petrifying screams and cries, Leonie shook and trembled. No time to look for her benefactor. He had probably fled a long time ago anyway (she hoped). Shakily she stumbled out of what was left of the diner, and into a strange world, a neighborhood that she no longer knew.

Screams and cries continued to fill the air, but Leonie, feeling terrified and tired at the same time, could not bring herself to go towards Cell's direction. She was certain she could feel his ki signal, but she could not will herself to move towards him in time. And he seemed to move so very fast. She couldn't even reach his current destination in time, before his ki signature would move on to another area.

She could run much faster than before, but had been afraid to attempt to fly. Every time, she ran, she saw piles of clothes on the street, dresses fluttering through the air, belts whipping along the sidewalk. Shoes rolled and tumbled along the gutters, and underwear and bras sailed through the gathering winds.

So many clothes—but no people were wearing them.

Leonie's throat choked with sobs, as she kicked clothes along through her mad, aimless pursuit of Cell. The increasing winds did not help matters any, as they shoved numerous clothing into her path. One time, a billowing red prom dress slammed into her face, entangling her in its seemingly numerous strings and sequins. She tripped over shoes, scurried around toppled, crumpled vehicles, and tried her best to dodge the rainbow storm of garments pelting her along the way.

An hour passed, with her coming no closer to Cell than before. It was now deathly quiet, with the screams lowering to a minimum. Not even the sounds of dogs barking, alley cats meowing, or traffic was heard. But as before, Leonie saw clothes on the ground, always more clothes, those of people who had obviously been alive just recently.

Knowing there was no real hurry anymore, she stumbled further down the sidewalk, struggling to maintain her balance because of her new tail, she gasped in shock when she saw a blue double stroller that contained a pair of pink, lacy baby dresses and sunbonnets. A green, frilly dress, apparently belonging to the mother lay crumpled on the sidewalk, pooling around a pair of shiny black pumps. A red leather dog's collar rested on the concrete in front of the stroller. Leonie buried her face in her hands and sobbed openly, horrified that Cell would even suck the life out of babies and dogs. But then, surely, he had done that in the Dragonball Z series too.

What would Mari Suzette do in this case? _She_ would have never allowed things to go this far. _She_ would have hunted Cell down within seconds and, at the very least, beat him to a bloody, green pulp. _She_ would have saved this entire city five times over. She wouldn't be standing on the sidewalk crying and cowering, like Leonie was doing right now.

Leonie caught sight of her new appearance in a storefront window. On the outside, she was Mari Suzette, but deep inside, she was still the same old Leonie Wells, afraid, weak, meek, and insecure. Was she really Mari Suzette, or was she still Leonie who just happened to resemble a good-looking Saiyan female?

Could she, in her new form, really defeat Cell--ever? Was she stronger than he was now, or could he still destroy her? Could she finally be the woman of her dreams and win Trunks's heart over, like Mari Suzette had done so quickly and easily?

Leonie's heart felt a bit lighter now, for surely if Cell now existed, then Trunks had to exist as well. She didn't know how she got here, but she figured since there was no going back, that she might as well make the most of her new life.

But first, she had to go check to make sure that her mother was okay. Even if she and her mother didn't always get along, Leonie knew deep down that Sasha cared about her, even though Sasha rarely showed it. And Leonie had always wanted for her mother to approve of her and love her, but that dream had seemed as unrealistic as her wish to be Mari Suzette. Nevertheless, Leonie had to make sure that Cell didn't get to her mother.

She made a tentative leap off of the cracked concrete beneath her feet, and to her mild surprise, she was able to stay in the air. Yes, she _could_ fly! Just like Peter Pan…Goku…Vegeta, and…Trunks!

She slowly levitated into the air, still uncertain of all her new abilities. She floated around in the air above the streets for just a few moments when suddenly, a short bald man with six dots on his forehead and no nose zoomed past her in an orange blaze.

Leonie panted. Could it be who she thought it was? No way! But then if Cell existed now, then…_he_ had to exist too!

Before she thought, she cried out one name:

"KRILLIN!"

* * *

Krillin came to a screeching halt in mid-air when he heard a strange, harmonious voice call out his name. He turned around and looked in the direction of the caller. He couldn't see her that well until he slowly flew closer, and his jaw dropped when he caught a full glimpse of her. 

A blonde Saiyan? With purple eyes? And a blond tail? Who was she? What was she doing here? Where had she come from? Was she related to Goku or Vegeta?

The former monk was uncertain whether to come to the odd girl, or continue looking for Cell. Finally, after a few moments of thought, he decided to cautiously approach this newcomer. She could be a new Saiyan, but then she could also be a new android. As nervous as he was, Krillin knew he had to determine whether this stranger was friend or foe.

He flew towards her, as the girl hovered in mid-air, looking at him in astonishment. Krillin chuckled to himself, as he came closer. She was rather cute, even if she was the weirdest looking Saiyan (assuming that was what she was) he had ever seen. And like Yamucha, Krillin was vulnerable when he saw a pretty face.

"Hello there!" Krillin called to her. "May I ask who you are?"

The girl was hesitant to reply. Finally, slowly, she answered, "I'm Mari Suzette. Are you looking for Cell?"

"Yeah, I am," Krillin replied uncertainly, "but just where did you come from? And how did you know my name?"

* * *

Leonie wasn't sure how to answer Krillin's first question. She had already lied when she told him that she was Mari Suzette. But was that really a lie? She probably wasn't even really Leonie anymore, but she still felt guilty for not telling Krillin who she really was--or really had been. Now Krillin wanted to know where she came from. What could she tell him? 

Could she tell him the truth on how she got here? That she was once a fat, freckle-faced, pimply waitress with no career plans, no future, and no fighting skills? Leonie was basically an honest person, and the deception she had already begun was starting to prick her conscience.

But then why not tell Krillin Mari Suzette's story? She was, for all purposes now, Mari Suzette, so why not be that wonderful, heroic Saiyan heroine? What harm could really be done? Even if she couldn't defeat Cell on her own, perhaps she could be of some help. And as long as she wore the butterfly pendant, she could do and be anything that she wanted to be. Besides, Krillin and the other Z fighters would not want to be friends with her, if they knew that she was just a weakling human, instead of a super strong Saiyan warrior? No one in her former life cared for her; why should the Z fighters?

She took a deep, weary breath, braving a properly sad smile. She decided to modify Mari Suzette's story a bit. "I just got here," she fibbed. "You see, I haven't been on Earth for very long, and…"

She started to weave Mari Suzette's incredible story to the first Z fighter she ever met. She just hoped that she could pull off an act convincing enough to persuade Krillin into believing that she was truly her Saiyan avatar.


End file.
